Covid in a storm

December 13, 2024 6:07 PM

I was looking at the FDA sheets to see if my covid tests were expired, but the most recent tests listed expired in April. Mine expired 10-31-2024.

There's an ice storm outside and the photos of overturned cars keep coming in, so no chance of going to the drugstore.

Is there a more updated list of extended tests? All the ones I've checked end in April.

posted by Rumi'sLeftSock to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

Response by poster: Actually I want to know how far forward the expiration date went.
posted by Rumi'sLeftSock at 6:08 PM on December 13

That's a very recent expiration date. If the control line works and there are no other indications that there's a problem, I'd use it.
posted by metasarah at 7:13 PM on December 13 [4 favorites]

The FDA page on At-Home OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests has a list of all the test brands where you can look up extended expiration dates using the lot number. Scroll down to the bottom.
posted by kittydelsol at 5:23 AM on December 14 [1 favorite]

You'll need to share the specific brand/name of the test in order for anyone to help you find the new expiration date.
posted by sriracha at 5:53 AM on December 14

Response by poster: kittydelsol: That's the sheet I mentioned, that ends in April and is good til November.
posted by Rumi'sLeftSock at 7:29 AM on December 14

The reason the expiration dates were extended in the first place is because they found that the dates were not accurate and the tests were good for longer than originally thought, owing to the novelty of the tests. Since a test kit with an expiration date of 10/31/2024 would have been manufactured well into the pandemic, it’s safe to assume the test’s expiration date is accurate. I wouldn’t expect the FDA to indefinitely update a list of tests; it’s not necessary.

That said, I’d still use your test if the control lines functions.
posted by rhymedirective at 7:57 AM on December 14 [1 favorite]

You might try using more than one of your expired tests if the first is negative, assuming that you haven't ventured out to the drugstore.

I used an expired test earlier this year and got a negative result... then used a second expired test the next morning, and it was positive. I don't think it was a false positive given the course of my illness afterward and the fact that multiple other people with whom I'd attended large meeting also came down with COVID. Of course, the 12 hours between tests might also have been needed for my antibodies to reach critical mass.
posted by aincandenza at 8:42 AM on December 14

When a friend of mine got Covid, she wanted to experiment with expired tests. With an Abbott Binax test, she had to wait 20 minutes rather than 15 to see it return a positive result when she knew she was in fact positive.
The control line showed before the positive result.
posted by advicepig at 4:53 PM on December 14 [2 favorites]

Anecdatum: Early this year a test that was several months past its expiration date, which had already been extended by something like 6 months, accurately gave me a positive result.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 7:21 PM on December 14